Albus Potter and the Secret of the Howling Mountain
by JuneGilbertVivianRaeven
Summary: My first NextGen, please give it a read. It is his first year at Hogwarts, and he has no idea what he's getting himself into... Son of a hero, will he make his own mark? All she has known, for as long as she can remember, is loneliness. Connected to a world she never knew of, what hidden secrets lie in her past, waiting to be told? Read on to discover their fates!
1. Prologue: Prophecy

Albus Potter

And the

Secret of the

Howling Mountain

Written by: June Gilbert

_Emerald and Onyx_

_Green and Black_

_Back to back_

_ In the strife of growing older_

_ Friends they can count on _

_ Foes as well_

_ All will be made in due time_

_ Darkness from the sire's time_

_Darkens the doors of these young lives_

_Will Onyx succumb to eternal night?_

_ Or will Emerald win the fight for their lives? _

_ Ruby darkness, Ruby light_

_ Golden lioness rising, _

_ Mighty diamond shining_

_ Sapphire's twinkle_

_Terror will reign when_

_A bitter evil returns _

_Darker by far than the world has faced _

_In its decades of existence_

_Even if all stand together_

_Lion, Hawk, Snake and Badger_

_Certain doom will rise_

_If her haunting eyes_

_Will not take up arms _

_Against this looming harm _

_To the hard won _

_Harmony…_

-Brianna Cassandra Trelawney, grandniece of Professor Trelawney, first prophecy, age seven

* * *

The little girl finished speaking, her small pale body falling limply to the floor. Her dark nut brown hair pooled around her small head as her blue eyes fluttered shut of their own accord. The shocked party guests couldn't move a muscle for a few minutes. Then Ginny ran forward, kneeling next to the stricken girl.

"Harry! We have to help her..."

Harry headed to his wife, putting a gentle arm around her, "Gin, we'd better let the medical wizards do that. Besides, she'll be fine in a bit. I doubt she'll remember what happened though."

Harry guided Ginny away as the young girl's family, the Trelawneys, converged upon their fallen offspring. A teary eyed Professor Trelawney was anxiously watching the proceedings, likely having completely forgotten about her interrupted tea party in the face of her favorite grand niece's prophecy then collapse. The elderly woman was wringing her thin hands and her beaded shawls jingled as she moved backward and forward indescisively.

Harry hadn't wanted to go to the tea in the first place, but politeness dictated that he attend, since it turned out that the Trelawneys had grown into a rather influential family. Besides, he had been asked via letter by Brianna Trelawney, the little girl. He smiled faintly. Harry could never turn down a child's request, unless it interferred with his family. Speaking of family, he guided his upset wife to a chair from which she could watch the proceedings. Judging from his experience with the elder Trelawney, Brianna would be fine. Ginny had loved the girl upon meeting her- Brianna being oddly sociable and sweet for a Trelawney.

Harry sighed quietly, filing this information away for later. Apparently Brianna had the Sight like her Great-aunt. It was downright amazing her first prophecy was so early, Harry reflected. Rubbing Ginny's back soothingly, he sighed in relief as he watched Brianna sit up in the midst of her loving relatives fussing over her. Now Gin wouldn't be so worried. Brianna blinked, her blue eyes fixing on Ginny. She stood up, brushing through her relatives as she came up to Ginny. Harry smiled as he watched and listened to them speak, Brianna reassuring Ginny she was alright and asking what had happened.

Totally oblivious to how this very prophecy would change his life- or, rather, his son's life- forever.

* * *

**Hey! This is a reposting of my first Harry Potter story, so I hope the prologue intrigues people more than the last. I know there wasn't alot of setup, but it's still good isn't it? What do you think? How was Harry? Ginny? What do you think of Brianna Trelawney? She's a more competent Seer than her Aunt :) I promise she'll be visible later and the prophecy will make sense in later chapters. **

**Please leave a review!**

**-June**


	2. Chapter 1: First Year

Albus Potter

And the

Secret of the

Howling Mountain

Written by: June Gilbert

_Wolves at your door_

_ Be warned Onyx and Emerald_

_ Fight till the light blooms again_

_ -Brianna T., age eleven, second prophecy_

* * *

Chapter One: First Year

I sighed nervously. _On my way to Hogwarts at last! After all these years of waiting, I'm finally going… Wow…_ I moved away from the train door, heading to find the compartment my cousin, Rose Weasley, had dodged into.

My name is Albus S. Potter, just Al for short.

Just to get this out of the way, my dad is Harry Potter, my mum is Ginny Potter nee Weasley and I have two siblings by names of James Sirius Potter and Lilly Luna Potter. James, my elder brother by a year, is a fun loving guy with brown eyes and hair who really loves to play pranks. Luckily, he's never done anything really harmful, so most of the time he gets away with whatever stupid prank he does. Except, guess who his usual victims are? Yup, you guessed it, Lilly and me. Mostly me, actually….Anyway, while not harmful, sometimes his tricks can be really nasty. Okay, maybe more than once or twice, but he's a good older brother when push comes to shove.

One time, at the dinner table, James pretended to have dropped his fork and that it fell under my seat. So, of course, I had to go get it. While Mum, Lilly and Dad weren't looking at him, he slipped an enchanted Whoopee cushion onto my chair. The noise was deafening, and I was REALLY steaming mad. And horribly embaressed. Which is why, accidentally-on-purpose, I dropped a garden gnome on his head. He was really furious, and retaliated with some of Uncle George's special itching powder in my underwear drawer the next day.

_That took me weeks to get out of my clothes, much less my butt… Oooo. But at least I paid him back with that Ink-Eye telescope… You know, I shouldn't be thinking about pranks today. After all, this is the night I'll be Sorted! _A fluttery feeling was starting in my stomach. _Ugh. There go the butterflies again… Why do people call them butterflies when they don't share anything with butterflies at all? I hope I don't get into Slytherin… I'd be the laughingstock of Hogwarts! A Potter in Slytherin… I can just hear Uncle Ron… Or worse, Uncle George… They'll never let me live it down, even if Dad says you can pick where you go! _

WHUMPF!

Stumbling into the closed door of another compartment, I wobbled for a little bit before hearing an annoyed yelp. Straightening up and sorting out my glasses, I tried to get a good look at the guy who had nearly run my small frame over while I was disoriented. When my glasses were back in the right place, I realized it was a girl. She was shorter than me, which is saying something since I barely top four feet tall. The girl had sallow skin, with black hair in a tight thick braid, a sprinkling of freckles on the bridge of her nose along with dark black eyes that held an untrusting gleam. She looked anemically thin and wore a set of patched Hogwarts robes that looked like hand me downs.

The girl was also frowning at me, but not angrily. It was like she had met me before, but couldn't remember where. Which was really odd, since I didn't remember her at all. The girl's frown cleared.

"Hey. Have you seen a small odd looking black cat around here? Her name is Ebony, and she's mine." Her voice was brusque and to the point.

"Err…no, I haven't seen a cat," I said, blinking, "What's your name?"

"Vivian. Vivian Raeven. What's your name?"

"Albus Potter, Al for short. How did you lose Ebony?"

"That cat always tries to escape at the weirdest times. Oh! There she goes! Ebony!"

Vivian raced after a small black blur that shot by me down the train corridor. Her feet pounded as she was rapidly growing smaller. I ran after her, trying to help catch the blur which I assumed was her cat. The black blur suddenly froze -revealing an odd looking feline- and I tripped, falling headlong into Vivian. I heard another panicked yelp from Vivian and an angry yowl from the cat as we both toppled over into a mess of arms, legs and torsos. The cat, of course, escaped unharmed. On the other hand…

Crunch!

"My glasses!"

"Oh bloody hell…"

"Hello cousinkins. _Reparo," _Rose said, picking up my ruined glasses and waving hernew chestnut wood wand at them. My glasses knitted together. Lucky for me, Rose had been practicing that spell all summer with her Mother's wand at both her house and ours. Also very lucky was the fact she had improved from her attempts with her mother's wand. _I'm very glad that it went better than the last time Rose tried with Aunt Hermione's wand…. _

"Thanks, Rose," I murmured, untangling myself from Vivian, who had finally captured Ebony as she untangled herself from me. I took the glasses from my cousin's blurry hand and affixed them back on my nose where they belonged. Vivian was sitting cross legged in the middle of the train aisle holding tightly onto a wriggling black cat. Rose stood near me, smiling a little as she offered me a hand up. I took it and stood.

"Ebony, you mad cap cat," Vivian murmured. She stood as well, with a bit of trouble since she was still holding her cat. Ebony looked like a miniature, black version of a lioness. Only with a couple weirder features, like her oversize ears.

"Err... Who's your pal, Albus," Rose asked warily, her deep blue eyes assessing the newcomer.

Rose Weasley has coppery reddish hair that frizzes and poofs when rained on, but most of the time stays in corkscrew curls. She was normally fairly friendly, but her eyes were harder and darker with a mixture of excitement and nerves. My cousin had inherited my Aunt Hermione's hair and her father's height. Rose was at least half a head taller than me. I sighed quietly, wishing I had my cousin's height. I hated when James ruffled my hair, and if I was taller than him like Rose he wouldn't be able to reach my hair.

"I can talk, thank you. My name is Vivian Raeven. What are your names," Viv asked, looking around the compartment.

"Well, Vivian, my name is Rose Weasley. And this rascal here is my dear cousin, Albus S. Potter, if he forgot to properly introduce himself. These three can probably introduce themselves, though," Rose said, quickly warming up to Vivian.

There was a burly boy who looked to be around fourteen, and a pair of Japanese siblings. I could tell they were at least brother and sister by the way they sat so close together on the train seat and their features were similar; both the boy and girl had dark brown hair and the jade green eyes. The big blond boy had a wide, ear-to-ear grin that made me want to smile too as he patted the seat beside him. Rose entered the compartment, but looked reluctant to sit down. I nearly bumped Vivian again as we both entered, me letting her go first.

"My name is Nikolas Matsune-Reed, and however old I look I'm actually only eleven. Nice to meet you, Vivian an' Albus," Nick said jovially. He had on a scarlet T-shirt and a pair of much scuffed jeans. His smile was warm and friendly, unbiased. I liked him right off the bat.

"Nice to meet you too, Nick," I said, smiling slightly.

"I am Kira Matsune, and my brothers are beside me. We are from Japan, and know little of British habits. I hope you shall forgive us for any mistakes," Kira said politely.

Kira was the nearly stereotypical Japanese girl read about in Lily's shojo manga, with dark brown hair and smooth, slim features. The only difference between those girls and Kira was her almond-shaped jade green eyes, a characteristic shared with her twin.

"I'm Jiro Matsune. Do any of you like baseball?"

This made sense as he was wearing a Red Sox cap, and a Red Sox t-shirt. Couple that with a pair of jeans and well-worn trainers, and you could tell he was outdoorsy, at least.

"Sorry, he's a baseball nutcase. Kira's kind of stiff, but she'll warm up to you all soon," Nick said, chuckling as he snatched Jiro's baseball cap.

"HEY!"

I stifled a chuckle as I watched Nick tease the twins. I'd had enough teasing from James to recognize when this stuff wasn't seriously being mean. This was one of those times. Ebony wiggled loose from Vivian's arms, dashing to hide in a wicker hamper that held some of Rose's books. Vivian sighed, scowling a little as she made her way to the window seat. She curled up in the corner, making herself as small as possible. Rose sat next to Kira and took out (what else?) a book. Kira was giggling as she watched Nick tease Jiro withholding his baseball cap. I sat down on the same cushy bench as Vivian. She gave a sideways look at me, and then quickly looked away. Vivian seemed oddly edgy. _Maybe she doesn't like being around a lot of people? _

Nick was on my other side, the rest of the girls and Jiro on the opposite bench. We had run into one of the compartments that had three to a bench instead of two like normal, the ones that had been added after Dad went to school. I was glad of it, not because Vivian took up a lot of space, but it meant more room for more friends. _No matter what House I end up in, I think I'd like to have these people as friends… _I smiled a little. One fear gone out the window. I looked at Vivian, deciding to try and make conversation.

"Viv, which Quidditch teams do you like the most? I like the Appleby Arrows, but I'm okay with any team, really," I said, grinning at her.

"Um… What's Kwidditch?" Viv asked curiously.

"WHAT?! No idea about Quidditch?!"

Kira and Jiro immediately covered their ears. The immediacy and complete symmetry off the action was a little freaky. Vivian blinked, and Rose simply buried her nose a bit deeper into her book-peeking nervously over the edge of it from time to time. _Rose likes the Chuddley Cannons, but she doesn't get that into it... Well, except for when you mention the Cannons. That's why only Rose and her Dad discuss their favorite team. They both get kinda touchy if you mention the Chuddley Cannons' unbroken losing streak…_

"Err, yes. I prefer intellectual pursuits to sports. Sure they might be fun to watch, but I wouldn't want to actually participate in such a stupid, boring pursuit. But if you like brawn over brains, go ahead," Vivian said icily, withdrawing her gaze out the window.

Ouch… That was harsh. There was an irritable, defensive look in Vivian's black eyes. I noticed her eyes seemed to get darker or lighter (and gleam more) depending on her mood. The fact that they were getting darker and gleaming ALOT more worried me...

"Hey, Vivian, be nice. He's not exactly opposing you, he's just got different views," I soothed. I disliked arguments-well, except for with James._ That's just because he makes me mad! And I don't want my new friends to hate each other… Especially not if we end up in the same House. Then I'd be listening to bickering for seven years…. _Vivian's head snapped back around, a furious expression on her face. Her lips were thinned and her face had an angry stain to it.

I looked from one to the other and noticed, with a mental shudder, venom in her eyes. Nick looked mad, and had a mulish expression. Everybody else seemed to want to stay out of it.

Then the venom was gone, as abruptly as it had come.

"Sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot, Nick. Just because I won't play the sport doesn't mean I can't hear about it, I guess. But hey, I didn't grow up in a wizarding family like some of you guys," Vivian said.

"Really? You're a Muggle-born? Cool!" Nick exclaimed happily.

To my chagrin (and Vivian's) this was how we figured out that Nick was a nutcase about Muggles, rather like my granddad, Arthur Weasley.

"Where do you live? Do you live with your parents? What's it like in a Muggle house where you live?"

"In order, I live in an orphanage, no, obviously, and I really don't want to answer the last question. Can I learn about Quidditch now?"

"Uh, alright, but if you're sure…"

"I'm really nervous right now and I don't want to answer any more questions, okay? However, I've got some. Have any of you been to Hogwarts before? What's it like?"

Nick decided to say, "Okay, now I get it. S'okay, everyone is really nervous when they go to a new school. No worries about Hogwarts. It's this big castle on a lake-well, I think Albus knows more about it. He's probably been there a bunch, right? Isn't your Dad our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

I sighed. _Here comes my Dad's famous name again_. I didn't mind about it so much when I was with family, but when people outside my family realized I was Harry Potter's son, that just ratcheted their expectations of me even higher. Which drove me nuts, personally. I wasn't sure I could live up to the famous Potter name, let alone be my own person at Dad's old school… Especially where he now teaches. Yet, these people had treated me normally so far. Even if I had told them my last name. I looked away, muttering, "Yeah, but I've never been for school. Only James has gotten to go all year. And Dad commutes to Hogwarts using the Floo Network…"

"Who's James and what's the Floo-whatever virus?" Vivian was looking lost. _She had definitely been raised by Muggles_, I decided.

"Floo Network, not Floo virus. I believe it works by tossing Floo powder onto a fire, stepping in the flames and clearly saying where you want to go," Kira spoke up. I nodded- that was the basic understanding I'd gotten from Dad when I asked. I had decided not to ask Aunt Hermione because I got a headache whenever she tried to explain things. She OVER explained stuff.

"James is my older brother, actually. He's a second year this year."

"Second year? Is that like second grade?"

"No, not really, it's the second level of Hogwarts. You get taught more difficult spells and potions," Jiro said, grinning, "I can't wait for Charms class. Mom says her Charms class was really fun."

"Oh," Vivian said, smiling a little uneasily, "So what are the classes?"

Rose said eagerly, looking up from her book, "Oh, you'll just love them! Hogwarts is a really awesome place for learning, there's Charm's class, Transfiguration class, and also.." I tuned out at the beginning of the class listing. Rose was really smart, but sometimes she could go on and on and on… _I think she got that from her mother…_

I picked up my ferret Frizzeltwist's cage and put it on my lap. Frizz squeaked, twitching in his sleep. I had stayed up half the night before, mostly too excited to sleep much. Which was probably why I was getting sleepy right now- besides the fact that Vivian and Rose were talking about classes which I was trying to tune out. _I'm nervous about the Sorting as is… Why do they have to keep talking about classes when we haven't even been Sorted yet?_ Successfully shutting out the girls talking, I put my cheek on Frizz's cage and promptly dozed off.

* * *

**Hey everyone! I finally updated! My other stories are consuming my interest right now, but I promise I'll work on this one as much as I can! School gets in the way more often than not, but I'll try my best to update. I have chapter two all typed out, so I'll post it when I can. :) **

**What do you think of Vivian? Of Nick and his siblings? I know we'll have Nearly Headless Nick later, but no other name seemed to fit him... - So some suggestions for better names will be considered. What House do you think each of these charecters will end up in? I'd like to know your guesses ^^ SO please leave a review! **

**Love**

**-June**


	3. Chapter 2: TROUBLE

Albus Potter

And the

Secret of the

Howling Mountain

Written by: June Gilbert

Chapter Two: TROUBLE

_Albus looks so…cute when he dozes like that_, I thought, smiling. When I met him, I felt he was something special. Those kindly emerald eyes drew me to him like a magnet. When I had looked into his eyes the first time, when we bumped into each other, I got the feeling that I had met him somewhere before. Or, some when before. It felt really weird, the kind of weird I should have been used to, but what cinched my liking of this funny boy was that Ebony liked him. As my cat usually could tell the good people from the bad, I trusted her opinion. Ebony had been with me since I was really small, and she was kind of like my little furry sister. Nurse Amethyst said I was a cat in another life, so it could be true. After all, I've found out a lot of strange things about myself lately. More than usual, even.

My full name is Vivian Amy Raeven. To put it bluntly, I don't have any parents and live in an orphanage. Trouble seems to follow me around, as well as funny "accidents" that usually happened to people I didn't like. What worried me was that it sometimes happened to people I DID like. I didn't want to lose these new, oddly nice people. Especially when I had finally discovered why all those strange things were happening around me.

I think the lady who came to talk to me called it "accidental magic". I thought she was a nutter at first, but when I thought about it, some of those incidents could only be explained as she explained them. Nurse had also corroborated Lady what's-her-face's story. I was wonderstruck when I realized that my old lady friend was a witch. She certainly didn't look like one. Not like the Muggle version anyways. I was a little irritated that she hadn't explained what was happening before this though.

Now I knew why Nicole Amherst had gotten an invisible wedgie when she taunted me about my love of books, why Drew Greene had lost his favorite watch after he pushed me into the pond, and why those three girls had gotten red stains spelling B-A-D that refused to wash off on their foreheads when they had played a mean prank on Nurse. _I'm special. No, not just special. I'm a witch. I can do magic and those idiots back in the orphanage can't do what I do. _A surge of warmth flooded me at the idea. I'd read about this feeling when I felt it after I got my letter. It was called pride. Too much of it was bad, but I knew I'd never make that mistake. I had been teased too often to ever let pride get the best of me.

Nurse tried to help me as much as she could, but sometimes got in big trouble for it. Like when Agatha, Bernice and Tracie had put that can of paint so it would spill on her when she opened the door. I realized I was bad luck to know soon enough. I had never had a friend my age, thanks to my freakish habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when people everyone knew I hated got their just desserts. _Why is he being nice to me? Oh, right, since he's on the train, he's got to be a wizard too. _

I watched Albus out of the corner of my eye, pretending to focus on Rose. _This girl is REALLY chatty… Wonder if she'll ever stop…. Ugh. _

"So, that's about it for the classes. DADA will probably be Albus' best subject. He sucks at Potions."

Albus' ears reddened as he protested, "No I don't!"

Rose grinned mischievously, "Yes you do. Remember that time when we were six and you tried to make a Boil Cure with Freddy's beginner potion kit?"

Albus' cheeks reddened further, and he looked like he wanted to shrink out of sight. My lips twitched upward at this. I couldn't help it; Albus was so cute when he was embarrassed! Looking away as their argument resumed, I was battling to restrain a bubble of something rather unusual for me. I wanted to giggle at seeing them, but that would only make poor Albus more embarrassed. I grinned. Trying to focus on something else, I went back to the basket I had borrowed from Rose. Deciding Ebony had had enough time in there for running off, I opened the top of the wicker compartment. Ebony had her own basket, but it had been put with my other luggage- in other words, not here.

Ebony's ears poked out of her hamper, followed by the rest of her head. Ebony was a small, skinny mottled black cat with positively enormous ears and a puff of fur on the end of her tail, like a lion's. I adored the feline since she had helped me through a very rough patch in my life, and continued to help me. In return for cat treats, of course, like any fickle kitty. I grinned fondly at her. She promptly hopped to the floor from the basket's lip, and meowed up at me. I leaned back, giving the cat plenty of lap room. She eyed me speculatively for a moment, then hopped up onto my lap. Turning around a few times, Ebony then sat down and tucked her paws under herself neatly. I smiled and started scratching her behind the ears, which elicited purring immediately.

I looked around to see what the others were doing. Rose had got her nose out of her book, and was now engrossed in a conversation about Quidditch (I asked how it was spelled later) with Nick. Kira and Jiro were dueling with electric gaming systems, namely a white DSi for Jiro and a black one for Kira. I knew because I had seen those things at elementary school and heard the rich kids call them that. I had never had one myself- besides, electronics never worked very well near me. And, as I told you, Albus was dozing with his cheek on a large fuzzy brown ferret's cage.

Such a comforting, happy scene; I had never seen the like before at Dandreitch House, which is extremely… bleak. This was rather new to me, feeling contentment being around other kids my age. Especially kids who seemed to be perfectly at ease with me, talking to me in a friendly fashion and grinning at me a lot. It was obvious they all came from at least middle class families; I saw the signs of a happy family life too…

_Bloody Hell I'm jealous. What I wouldn't give to have parents… even with all the other things that come with parents would be welcome. Someone to kiss me goodnight, to hug me when I do something good- not like I do much of that anyway… Oh well. Stop being glum. Just watch the others, _I counseled myself. The light faded into sunset as we raced on, the jokes flowing and happiness abundant. At least among the others; I was still too confused by the comfortable feeling to talk much.

Why couldn't it last?

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Something shook the train, and I mean **SHOOK** it. Screams resounded as our car flipped over and the lights went out. Everything went everywhere in a confused, crazed jumble. I heard Ebony shriek, Al's ferret start screeching, and various frantic yells from my (for lack of a better word) train car mates. Yelping curses, I suddenly whacked my head on something hard, at least twice. I saw stars. Swearing again(a rather colorful one learned from switchings), I, for the second time today, attempted to untangle myself from a mass of arms and legs and attempted to make sense of what was going on. I was having a bloody hard time managing.

_Lists, lists, you barmy idiot, list what happened! Lists have never failed you yet, dummy,_ I scolded myself.

Okay, number one, something very, very big had just slammed into the train. Number two, our train car flipped onto its ceiling, thus throwing everything into disarray and crushing the lights and messing up the windows. Number three, a lot of people were screaming, on top of me, and my head HURT. A LOT. Solution to problem; get everyone to shut their pie holes and then make a damage assessment.

I irritably took in a breath, "SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP AND STOP SCREAMING EVERYBODY!"

That quieted the frantic screams, but set off a most irritating string of clunks, clanks, ouches, yelps, mews, snarls, and hissing and assorted curse words from unknown directions. Everything was screwed up, but at least light was filtering in from the mangled window of our compartment. I separated myself from everyone else by crawling towards the door and staying put as everyone else sorted themselves out. Finally, the luggage, pets and people were sorted from the huge pile. Miraculously, nothing heavy had fallen on my traveling companions since most of the luggage was strapped in too well to be loosed even by this craziness.

Kira nearly had her arm squished by Jiro's trunk, but nothing was broken when we got her out from under it. Everyone was bruised up by the encounter, but nobody sustained serious injuries. Ebony was miffed and still very much freaked out over the fall. Al's ferret was mostly okay- thanks to padding in his cage- but still very edgy from the shock, like Ebony. So far as I could see, nobody else had pets to BE freaked out.

"What's your ferret's name?" I asked shakily, more to calm Albus down than out of curiosity.

"Frizzletwist," Albus said nervously.

I had to stifle a giggle at the name. _That's at least twice I've wanted to laugh with him… So odd…_

I soothingly (I hoped) said, "A calm mind helps in a crisis," reaching out my hand to touch each one of them on the arm or shoulder. This had worked on animals before, so maybe it would work the same with humans. Luckily, it did.

Everyone seemed to relax and collect their wits. Jiro and Kira were holding hands, confused fear on their faces. Rose was leafing through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, one of our course books for the year. I decided to take a peek out at what had turned our train on its side like this. Crawling through the people carefully, I wiggled down and leaned just so I could see. What I saw made me jerk upwards, catching my head on the edge of the window frame. Seeing stars again, I whimpered and fell flat on my stomach. Once I had recovered a little, I scrambled back in. From the look on Rose's face, she had seen it too. Nobody else had bothered to peek outside yet, thank God.

"What is that thing?"

Rose's face whitened further as she whispered, "A graphorn."

_Okay, so that's what you call a giant purple bull with four toed feet. Nice to know. Oh geez… What do I do? _I took a deep breath and released it. Okay, only one option. I didn't know whether there were any adult wizards nearby to help, so I'd have to take matters into my own hands if I wanted us to stay safe. _Us meaning him… _I couldn't resist sneaking a glance at Albus. He was stroking Frizzletwist, and then put the ferret safely back in his cage. Al had a gentle, goofy smile on his face as he looked at his pet. A surge of unfamiliar warmth flooded my heart. Shaking my head to clear it, I came up with a plan. _Now if only they'll go along with it…_

I turned to follow through, but was stopped from exiting by Al's voice.

"Oi, you aren't thinking of doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

I huffed, fluffing out a lock of hair that had gotten out of my braid and into my face, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rose spoke up, "If you're gonna go after that thing, we're coming with."

I blinked in surprise. I thought they wouldn't protest- after all, they'd only just met me. "No. You can't come with me."

"Yes we bloody well can come with you!" That was Albus, looking stung.

It was Nick that stated it clearly for all, "Look, Vivian, facing that thing alone is nuts. Facing it with a few more people isn't so nuts. And we're coming whether you like it or not."

My cheeks got hot and I felt flustered. _Crap. Why do things never go as planned with me?_

"You don't have to come along…"

"Bloody hell yes we do! I'm not letting a friend go out there alone," Albus cried indignantly, eyes angry.

"There you have it," Rose said, rather smugly, "Weaslys, Potters and Matsunes don't leave friends to face graphorns alone. So suck it up."

I sighed, knowing when I was defeated. "Fine. You can come. Don't blame me if you get hurt."

Rose and Al grabbed their wands (his looked like oak wood, patterned with a meteor trail of stars, which sparkled faintly in the sunset, and hers was carved with a delicate twisting pattern of rose vines). Nick simply cracked his fists, and the respective pets were deposited into Jiro and Kira's laps. It was decided that they would stay behind to look after the pets and make sure they didn't run off. Nick seemed rather glad to have gotten them to stay; his adoptive siblings obviously meant a lot to him. I sighed as I crawled over to my bag, the one I carried everything really precious to me in. The thing was patched and worn but I always carried it with me on the rare trips the orphanage made to the seaside or other places.

I fished out my flute, the only thing I owned of material value besides my new hawthorn wand, and maybe my secondhand robes and books. The wand was mostly useless, since I hadn't learned any spells yet, but my flute would be VERY useful. See, I have this little gift, where I can control sound through magic. It's all about intention with my gift; if a lullaby is your intention, you WILL go to sleep. Or a song intended to excite, you'll feel adrenaline pumping so fast, you can't help but scream in anticipation. And there are even notes to… well, kill. That's what I think, anyway.

I fingered the flute, its unique silver body shining. It was twined with golden vines, and the mouthpiece was a solid ruby carved into the shape of a rose in full bloom. It always hurt when I used this aspect of what I knew now was my witch magic, not a part of my curse. Nothing was ever free; there was always a price to be paid.

I gripped the flute's body, my resolve solidifying. I scrambled out the window, ordering, "Rose, Albus, Nick, follow me."

Without question, they followed me.

"Aargh, I'm stuck!"

Nick, the last one out, had ended up stuck in the train window's twisted frame. Luckily, all the glass was out, in no position to hurt us even on accident. Sigh, well, with Nick's big frame, it was to be expected that he got stuck in such a small hole as the one I'd found. The rest of us were skinny enough to manage.

We pulled him out quickly. Drawing in a nervous breath, I started to slowly, calmly walk toward the graphorn. Trying my best to ignore the screaming of frightened kids in other violated cars, the scream of twisted metal and the general sounds of chaos, I gripped my flute even tighter to give myself courage. This was to save the people that had been so kind to me… despite everything.

"Vivian!"

"Are you STARK STARING MAD?!"

"Follow me, NOW!" I yelled sharply at Rose and Nick, the two balkers. Albus had followed me without question, which I was thankful for. After some moments, Nick ran toward us over the scraggly mountain grass. Rose, after a few more shrieked opinions (mostly on my sanity, brains, and heritage that I knew weren't true) followed suit.

As we neared the beast, I put my lips to my flute and blew a short, sharp blast. That got the graphorn's attention. It's purple, horned head swung toward me. The graphorn's nose puffed, and the bull's hooves scraped the ground, readying for a charge. A flutter of fear made itself known in my heart, but I refused to give in to it. _This is for Albus. This is for Rose, Nick and the twins. They were kind to me when nobody else has been… They're my friends. _A warmth surged through me at the thought.

**"BUUUUWWWOOOOAAAH!"**

Coming back to reality, I ran as the beast turned and charged at me. A loud yelp escaped as I heard the pounding hooves, thinking I had not quite thought this through…. _Crud._

* * *

**Sorry I left a cliffie, but at least I updated! I finished chapter three FINALLY, so I decided to upload this. I know I kept you waiting, but other stuff sort of took priority. If anyone is reading this, please let me know with a review. Short A/Ns happen when I update in Computer Class... So, leave a review!  
-June**


	4. Chapter 3: Gifts and Bad Planning

Albus Potter

And the

Secret of the

Howling Mountain

Written by: June Gilbert

Chapter Three: Gifts and Bad Planning

I saw Vivian running from the graphorn. _Didn't she have a plan before this?! _It soon became apparent that whatever the plan was, it wasn't working with the big bull thing chasing her, both purple bull creature and girl pounding over the rocky scrubby ground. _I KNEW this was a bad idea! Especially if it gets Vivian killed... _I scolded myself not to think like that. It was a worse idea to do that. Think POSITIVE.

I yelled, "We gotta help her Rose!"

"How the bloody hell do you expect me-us- to do that?! We haven't even learned proper spells yet!"

"I don't know, distract it? You could use a spell, you're always studying them-"

"UGH! You idiot…. I'm not THAT good yet!"

"You bragged enough this summer to make me think you were! Liar!"

Nick, apparently ignoring our bickering, dashed over to a boulder about twelve feet from where the graphorn was plowing after Vivian. Watching him wrap his arms as far as they could go around it, I couldn't help but wonder _What the heck does he think he's doing_?

I was gobsmacked a moment later when Nick lifted the boulder that was at least twice his size and had to be way more than twice his weight. I was even more gobsmacked when Nick threw said boulder a moment later towards the graphorn. The rock slammed into the side of the graphorn's head, right on target. The bull like creature bellowed angrily, turning its piggy black eyes toward Nick. It looked mad enough to charge, and charge it did. I ran across to my friend, and in a fit of pique I yelled the first spell that came to mind.

_"Stupefy!"_

I was confused when the stunner actually zinged out of my wand. Bad news, it bounced right off the graphorn's hide, the creature roaring in pain as the stunner bounced onto a rock. The rock promptly cracked in two. I was amazed and proud- if kind of dizzy and weak feeling. But there was still the matter of the humongous beast charging at us.

"Idiot! Dodge it!"

Rose's frightened screaming was very dratted distracting. I wanted to help her, I did. I tried to move, but my legs seemed to be glued in place. My heart was thudding in my ears to the time of the graphorn's hooves slamming on the ground. It was getting closer…

closer…Close!

_Too close!_

In the nick of time Nick yanked me out of the way, saving my hide as the graphorn plowed into the other side of the bottle neck of mountains the train had stopped in. That was when we heard the music.

Eerily beautiful, the ethereal lullaby played on a flute drifted through the chill September air. Somehow, even over the frightened screaming of the other people around us, running to hide from the graphorn, the deceptively soft notes could be heard. Soon, the screams and even the faint sounds of nature ceased as everything within range was caught up in the spell of the song. _Who on earth could be playing such a melody?_ I thought.

I soon got my answer as I turned my head to see Vivian. Her eyes glowed faintly, like shimmering pieces of jet. Vivian was playing an expensive looking flute with a look of rapt concentration on her features. I started to feel my limbs grow heavy as the melody progressed. Staggering, I foggily wondered how in the world she was doing this…_This is no magic I've ever heard of. Or heard before…._

Everything began to spin as she reached what I think was the end of the melody. With a bump, everything abruptly stopped spinning as I passed out.

* * *

**Vivian's POV**

Both Nick and Albus had to be fearless.

Or very stupid to be doing what they were doing...

Which involved shooting a spell that zinged off the graphorn's thick purple hide and ended up cracking a rock and throwing impossibly huge things at the graphorn. I didn't even know anyone COULD do spells until he'd been taught at Hogwarts. Rose was hiding behind Albus, much to his annoyance.

Bloody hell. Not the time to be thinking about that, I reminded myself. I put my flute to my lips and blew. My feet were planted strongly on the rocky ground, braced between two triangular gray rocks.

A haunting lullaby blossomed from my flute. _Yes, this time my sometimes misfiring magic would work. It has to!_ The graphorn looked sleepy and dazed as it tried to turn and face me. The big purple beast wouldn't be charging any time soon.

The lullaby drifted to a familiar pattern, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Swaying slightly, I watched as the big beast staggered woozily on the rocky ground. Beginning "The Skye Boat Song", I watched as the graphorn's legs came out from under it.

With a small groan of relief, I ceased playing as I finished up. Blinking to clear my somewhat foggy head, I came to realizing everyone within hearing range had fallen asleep. Albus was curled up on the grass, Rose was flopped in a heap and Nick… Well, Nick was lying out flat as a board. I smiled faintly. _These people are so odd…. Well, so am I. I should fit right in…._

Wincing slightly, I ignored the pain building in all parts of me and knelt next to Albus. He looked peaceful asleep, but I knew he needed to be awake before the graphorn woke up again. I didn't know how long my sleep-songs would last. I gently started to shake Albus. Sighing in embarrassment as I saw a drip of crimson on Albus' cheek, I carefully wiped it off then continued to shake him. Albus' green eyes fluttered open moments later. My cheeks heated slightly as I realized I had pulled Albus into my lap while trying to wake him up. He sat up slowly, wincing.

"What happened?"

"I happened. I'll explain later, shouldn't we get away from the graphorn while we can?"

"R-right. I still can't believe the thing's asleep..."

Adult wizards in cloaks, appearing out of nowhere, were putting the train to rights. Cracked windows fixed, train cars were put right side up, sobbing and confused students were being soothed and herded back into the train cars as they repaired themselves. I was relieved to discover while watching that nobody had suffered more than a lot of bruises and some scratches. _Good. My bad luck hasn't done anyone in yet…__. And I hope it never does._

"Vivian? Vivian are you okay?"

I blinked, cheeks heating strangely as Albus waved a hand in front of my face.

I swatted the hand. He grinned sheepishly, and I noticed he had a few bruises on his neck and face, probably from falling down almost face first. Those bright green eyes drew me again, though. I couldn't help but stare as that funny feeling flooded me again. That feeling of déjà vu and safety at once as I looked into his eyes. He blinked, destroying the spell. Al grinned; it turned out to be infectious because I couldn't help grinning as well. Then Al pumped a fist in the air, full out beaming with excitement.

"We did it! We took down a graphorn!"

I was really confused when he pounced, hugging me tightly. His enthusiasm was contagious, though. I began to smile as the bleeding on my lip stopped. _We defeated a graphorn! _I was dizzied quickly by the realization. Also maybe the fact that I had used a bunch of my power. I moaned a little; I couldn't help it. Getting a little woozy, I felt myself lean on him more than I should have.

"Vivian?"

"I'm getting really dizzy… Let me go and check on the others."

He let me go so quickly it was embarrassing. I sat down hard, barely aware as he moved to check on Nick and Rose. Panting softly, I grabbed the sides of my head and tried to keep calm. _No use getting dizzy and all upset. I know I'm feeling weird around him but it's probably because he's a new freind. That's weird enough for me_. I collected myself and stood once more. Padding over the scrubby grass, I walked over to Albus, stopping a few feet from him. Al had knelt near Rose, and was trying to shake her awake. His face creased in concern when he couldn't wake her up. Racking my mind for an idea to make him stop frowning and for Rose to wake up, I hit upon an idea.

"Try a word to wake her up."

"Like scaring her awake?"

"Precisely."

"Uummm..."

I sighed, "You're stuck aren't you?"

"No I'm not!"

"Bloody hell," I groused, "Play on her fears Albus! What scares Rose most?"

Albus thought a minute, scowling in concentration. Then he leaned over Rose, and whispered something that made her abruptly sit bolt upright with a yowl. I looked away with a wince as they smacked heads together. Albus had been knocked backwards and was mumbling a few colorful words while holding his head. _Oooo, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now..._

* * *

**Albus' POV **

With a groan, I finally lifted my head from my hands. I happened to glance at Vivian, which was when I noticed the blood that had dribbled out the corner of her mouth and stained her chin.

"Bloody Hell Vivian! That's what you call okay?!"

Before I really knew what I was doing, I was standing up again and nearly fell over. Apparently hitting your head makes you pretty dizzy. A small form was immediately under mine, bracing me until I could get my bearings. As I stood on my own shakily, I noticed Vivian's hair was unbound and covered her bloody chin from view to the side. I got in front of her, worried and wondering what the heck to do. Vivian, on the other hand, just seemed half bemused, half amused to see me flustered.

"You face down a graphorn and then get all flustered over a bit of blood? I'll be fine Albus. It's just part of what I do," Vivian said, cocking her head a bit. She looked sort of like a raven with her head like that, glossy ink black hair standing in for feathers and coal black eyes reminding me of the curious bird.

"What in the good green Earth **was **that?"

Vivian answered Rose easily, "I call it my gift. I think it's been my magic all along, but I figured out how to use it pretty early on."

Rose was practically bug-eyed trying to figure the implications of this out. Vivian smirked ever so slightly, tucking her hair behind her ear. At least, as much of her bangs that would stay put behind her ear. She huffed irritatedly when more hair fell into her face. I smiled a little, still worried about the blood on her chin. Then I remembered Nick.

"Oi, what's going on?"

"Nick! You're okay," Vivian said, relief in her tone. I grinned, pounding the blonde's back.

"You scared us for a minute."

"I said what's going on?"

Vivian easily took charge, saying, "We'll explain everything soon. We just have to get out of here. I have no idea how long my sleep-song will last."

Rose stood on wobbly legs, and Nick stood as well. He seemed to regain his balance quicker than my cousin and I. Vivian was looking paler every minute, but she remained resolutely on her feet. I led the way as we headed back towards the train and the relative safety of the adult wizards suddenly swarming the area. Threading my way through the thinning crowds, I was surprised to receive a few dirty looks from the adult wizards. I then heard a soft growl from somewhere behind me, and abruptly the focus of the gazes switched. I glanced back and saw Vivian glaring at each adult wizard in turn.

Every one of them turned their heads away. This left a rather satisfied smirk on Vivian's still-stained lips. It looked eerie...

Trying not to worry about it, I headed towards the train. Faintly, I heard whispers on the way to the train.

"Severus..."

"...the old Snake come back to life..."

"... Slytherin for sure..."

I had no idea who they were taking about, so I ignored it and moved on. With Vivian and Rose trailing behind me and Nick in front of me, we headed to the train and got all the way to the door when Nick suddely stepped aside, a confused look on his face. That was where I was nearly bowled over by a taller, stronger body.

"Ooof!"

"Albus you bloody idiot! You could have gotten killed!"

James was hugging me tightly and scolding me roundly as the rest of my family members on the train clumped around me. Tall, beautiful Victoire was standing aside a little, looking relieved. Dominique noticeably exhaled in relief, even though she didn't look outright relieved like her sister. Lucy and Fred were hugging each other, and Molly was grinning over at me like an idiot. Apparently James had dragged the whole clan that went to Hogwarts along with him, because a couple minutes later and everyone was piling in on the hug, slapping my back and alternately congratulating and scolding me. Rose got dragged into the hug fest too, because I could hear her protesting vehemently a few steps from me. After I untangled myself from the mess of relatives, I staggered to the door of the train and stood there, panting. After I collected my wits, I looked back over to the swarm of family. Grinning a bit, I thought _Wow. Don't think they've even noticed I'm gone... _

"They're really affectionate, aren't they?"

I looked over to see Vivian, still alone in a corner. Nick and the twins had gotten pulled into my curious relatives, but Vivian was still relatively unnoticed. She looked more worn out than ever, and she was leaning against the wall. Trying to look cool, but only looking more tired. I stood up straight once I caught my breath. A flutter of mischief surfaced as I saw her. After all, she deserved some credit for this since she was the one who took the thing down.

Bellowing to be heard over my loud and curious relatives, I said, "OI! HERE'S THE ONE WHO GOT US OUT OF THAT MESS SAFELY!"

The unusual event of me yelling got their attention. Moments later Vivian was deluged with questions regarding the strange events that had recently happened.

"What did you do to it?"

"Is it dead?"

"Why did you go after it in the first place you little nutter? It could have killed Albus and Rosie!"

"Yeah! Who are you anyways? Who are you to Albus?"

"Why not let the adult wizards take care of it?"

"Are you brave or just stupid?"

Vivian's face was getting redder and redder as more and more questions were directed her way. When I looked, I could tell her breathing was getting faster and shakier. _Maybe siccing my relatives on her wasn't such a good plan after all... _ That idea was confirmed when Vivian fainted, crumpling into a small heap of black, red and white.

* * *

**A cliffie :3 Maybe it will encourage reviews... I'm not posting for the sake of them though. Just because I think Vivian deserves to be heard. She and Albus are going to have a doozy of a first year at Hogwarts. **

**Vivian: I remember that year. Albus was so stupid, he'd have potions blow up on him every other Potions class. **

**Rose: *giggle* And the other times he would melt holes in his cauldron!**

**Albus: I was not THAT bad! **

**Rose:*Snicker* You forget...**

**Me: Enough! No more spoilers you guys! :P I want to leave the readers something to discover.**

**All in unison: Now, if you liked us, leave a review! **

**-June**


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